1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to a bearing seal for axles, in particular the seal of a grease-lubricated sliding bearing for a pin.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Radial shaft sealing rings having a sealing ring with a sealing lip contacting the shaft and a spring which is tensioned around the outside of the sealing ring are known in general from the prior art. The sealing ring is arranged so as to be centered in an annular groove of a bearing bore hole of the bearing housing. Play existing between the shaft and the bearings is bridged by way of the elasticity of the sealing lip and the pretensioning of the sealing ring via the spring.
Use of these radial shaft sealing rings for sealing grease-lubricated pin bearings, which are used e.g. in the booms of excavators, proves disadvantageous since the play of the pin connection conditioned by its design already lies within the limiting range of the maximum play of a shaft sealing ring which can be compensated for. The decreased wear of the pin suspension brought about by an increase in play has the inevitable result that the sealing lip of the shaft sealing ring can no longer bridge the bearing play so that the dirt penetrating into the bearing leads to a drastic increase in wear.
A bearing seal, preferably a sliding bearing seal, for bearings exposed to high wear, as is the case in roller tables in rolling mills, is known from DD 14 251. This bearing seal has a sealing means which slides on the shaft and embraces it. The annular sealing means is held by its outer circumference in an annular groove of a ring. The ring with the sealing means is arranged so as to slide radially with a sliding fit within another groove arranged in the bearing bore hole of the bearing housing. Further, the ring is guided in the groove of the bearing housing by pins which are disposed axially and engaged in radially directed grooves in the side walls of the ring. The pins secure the ring with the sealing means so as to prevent rotation in the bearing housing.
This bearing seal has proven very costly in terms of construction in that the sealing element is constructed from two parts, the ring and the sealing means, and because the ring must have additional radially directed grooves for the pins in order to secure the sealing means against rotation.